Fukushima nuclear disaster

The Fukushima nuclear disaster showed us once again that nuclear reactors are fundamentally dangerous. Not only do they cause significant damage to the environment, the health of populations and to national economies, the heavy financial cost of a meltdown is inevitably borne by the public, not by the companies that designed, built, and operated the plants. None of the world’s 436 nuclear reactors are immune to human errors, natural disasters, or any of the many other serious incidents that could cause a disaster. Millions of people who live near nuclear reactors are at risk.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people continue to be affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, especially the 160,000 who fled their homes because of radioactive contamination, and continue to live in limbo without fair, just, and timely compensation. They have only a false hope of returning home, yet the Japanese government is eagerly pushing to restart reactors, against the will of its people, and without learning true lessons from Fukushima.

The latest updates

In March 2011, Japan suffered the worst nuclear catastrophe in a generation, with triple reactor core meltdowns and exploded containment buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The catastrophe was a stern warning...

Every birthday is special – but today Japan is celebrating something unique. Japan has been nuclear-free for one year.
Nuclear-free – a phrase that in its simplicity carries a devastating message for the worldwide nuclear industry,...

A new report from the US National Academy of Sciences says not enough is being done to prevent worst case scenario nuclear accidents. We agree.
A year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster began in March 2011…
… the Max Planck...

The decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) to approve the draft assessment for the two Sendai nuclear reactors in Kyushu is a clear and dangerous signal that Japan's nuclear village – industry, regulators and government –...

It has often been pointed out that TEPCO has been badly managed for years and that it caused the triple meltdown of its reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. So, I attended the 90th Annual General Meeting of TEPCO to see if management has...

Not beautiful, safe or cheap: a message to the United States, where the Obama administration has pledged to waste money financing the Small Modular Reactor (SMR).
SMRs are supposed to be small and prefab – constructed from parts...